It’s no secret that I love tomatoes. Growing them is an exciting, ever-changing challenge with a big reward at the end. I strive each year to experiment with as many different varieties as I can fit into my small gardening spaces, testing them in a variety of growing conditions to see how well they will perform. Some of my results are shared here.
Since many of you have already started your seeds and even have your plants outdoors in the soil, and others, like me, will be starting seed soon, I’ve waded through the extensive tomato archives on this site and picked out the posts that are most geared towards how-to growing, care, cooking, and preserving information. They’re now all available in one place that you can return to again should you need the help or inspiration.
Happy planting!
Click here to see the You Grow Girl Tomato Growing Guide.
Thanks for the emphasis on practical growing tips Gayla. Tomatoes are also a garden must for our family. And my wife and I can never seem to agree on what varieties to grow each year because our tastes constantly change. Your posts covering different varieties are a great read.
I really appreciate your well written, practical information, on growing veggies. I getting the garden going again and this will be very useful.
Oooh, thanks very much for this! Probably about 2/3 of my grow-op set up is taken up with tomatoes and tomatillos right now, so this is timely! (This year is my first time starting anything from seed, and I’ve tried Yellow Pear tomatoes, Green Zebra tomatoes, and Verde Tomatilloes.) Your instructions on DIY lighting systems and seed starting techniques have been very, very helpful to me as a newbie!
I’m about to transplant my baby tomatoes to a larger container. Do you recommend using seed starting mix (like what they were started in) or can I use potting soil at this point?
New to the site. After 20 years of gardening I am now an amateur once again due to our move from NJ to CA. In NJ to grow tomatoes all you need to do is put a plant in the ground and wait for harvest. But now I live in Southern California–with 1/6th of the rain NJ gets & none of that is in the summer. So watering tomatoes is new to me. When you say water less frequently but deeper–how often & how much? Is it the same story for peppers? (in NJ peppers grow just like the tomatoes).